American humorist Robert Benchley once said, “Who said time machines haven’t been built yet? They already exist. They’re called books.” But he could have easily and accurately substituted the word “paintings” for “books.” Stepping into Joaquin Turner’s Dolores Street gallery is proof positive that the delicate art of putting paint to canvas can speak to us through the years and transport the viewer to a bygone place and time.
Now celebrating 10 years in business, Turner has carved a niche as one of the area’s preeminent authorities on early California artists. And, informed and inspired by those masters, his own evocative paintings take pride of place next to those of the artists he has studied. “When I first opened my gallery, I was only selling my paintings,” he says. “Fortunately, my paintings started selling well, to the point where I couldn’t keep up and I would have gaps on the gallery walls.” At the time, Turner had a modest collection of works by California artists that he admired and found inspirational. “I brought some of those pieces into the gallery.” He saw this as an opportunity to show visitors and clients his influences and to explain “tonalism,” the style of painting he practices. Tonalism is a technique popularized around the end of the 19th century characterized by using subtle coloring to create moody, misty and atmospheric landscapes—exactly the type of vistas the Monterey Peninsula is famous for.
Turner was born at Fort Ord, and his earliest visual memories are of the cypress trees that rose between his home and the Monterey Bay. And those indigenous trees are a frequent subject of both his paintings and those of the Monterey Peninsula-area artists who came before him.
As did many Army children, Turner spent a large part of his childhood in Germany. “My parents took us to museums all over Europe,” he recalls. “The history and art of Europe sparked my imagination at a very young age. The works of the Old Masters especially left a deep impression on me.” Drawing from the time he could hold a pencil, he was 13 when he asked his parents for painting lessons in Germany. By the time the family returned to the Monterey Peninsula permanently, he was a high school junior enrolled at Pacific Grove High, with hopes of being an illustrator or fine artist.
“I was painting fantasy art at that time,” he says, “and having experienced the ancient depth of European art, had no idea that California had a rich artistic history as well.” That soon changed. Attending an exhibit of early Monterey artist Charles Rollo Peters (1862-1928) at the Monterey Museum of Art opened up that world to him and set him on the trail that he blazes today. “I walked in and saw these bold, brooding paintings—moonlit scenes of old Monterey adobes, cypress trees—that reminded me of European works.” Inspired by the exhibit, he rushed down the street to the Monterey library and began his study of the painters who populated the area in the early 20th century: artists such as Peters, William Ritschel, Armin Hansen, Percy Gray and Mary DeNeale Morgan, to name a few.
“I’d say over 80 percent of visitors who come through my door have no idea that Carmel was an important art colony even before being established as an incorporated city, and nearly everything that makes Carmel unique today stems back to that art colony,” Turner says. He takes great pride and joy in sharing his vast knowledge with others. “It’s heartening to see the genuine interest and enthusiasm in folks of all ages and walks of life when I share this history. I find it particularly important to continue operating my gallery this way, in large part because we don’t have a museum here in Carmel despite our rich and important past.” Yes, the Carmel Art Association (of which Turner is vice president and chair of the recently formed History and Legacy Committee) quite actively promotes both past and present artists, but a true museum has yet to become a reality. “Though there are close to 80 art galleries here, there are only a few left that feature early California art,” Turner says. “Without a museum, I feel the onus lies on us to share our history.”
The Joaquin Turner Gallery recently relocated to much larger digs at the entrance to Su Vecino Courtyard on Dolores Street between 5th and 6th Avenues (previously occupied by Rieser Fine Art). A visit and conversation with the artist will take one to another place and time, captured in oil on canvas by some of the greatest artists of their generations—including the gallery’s proprietor. It’s time well spent.
The Joaquin Turner Gallery 10th Anniversary Celebration will take place on August 30 from
4-7 pm. For more information, call 831/869-5564 or visit www.joaquinturner.com.